Interdisciplinary Community Health Scholars: Creating a Tobacco Free Generation

1. Presented by: Christina Mathis, MBA Victor Rodriguez-Cruz, BS Interdisciplinary Community Health Scholars:Creating a Tobacco Free Generation

2. Who are AHEC Interdisciplinary Community Health Scholars? • AHEC Interdisciplinary Community Health Scholars are health professions students interested in working in medically underserved communities on a series of tobacco prevention and education projects. • Students spend eight weeks of the summer working part-time at Gulfcoast North AHEC in Land O’ Lakes, Florida. The students will work to develop and implement anti-tobacco programs with medically vulnerable populations.

3. Who are AHEC Interdisciplinary Community Health Scholars? • AHEC Interdisciplinary Community Health Scholars are health professions students interested in working in medically underserved communities on a series of tobacco prevention and education projects. • Students spend eight weeks of the summer working part-time at Gulfcoast North AHEC in Land O’ Lakes, Florida. The students will work to develop and implement anti-tobacco programs with medically vulnerable populations.

4. Who is eligible? • Health professions students from a variety of fields pursing careers in primary care, public health, and social work are invited to apply. • Students include: • Medical students between their first and second years of medical school (rising second year students) • Graduate nurse practitioner students in the areas of adult, family, pediatrics, or psychiatric/mental health • Graduate public health students • Graduate social work students • Physical therapy doctoral students • Undergraduate nursing students • Undergraduate health professions students

5. ICHS Two Component Program • The ICHS experience is comprised of two components: • Interdisciplinary Classroom Experience: Students will spend a few days throughout the summer program in an orientation or classroom setting. • Orientations include AHEC 101, Cultural Competency, Introduction to the world of tobacco, etc. • Interdisciplinary Community – Based Experience: The remaining days of the program will be spent implementing and evaluating the tobacco project in the community.

6. The What… ICHS Program • Students are tasked with tobacco-related projects and activities that will be completed throughout the course of the program. • Teams will disseminate these deliverables in underserved communities by collaborating with local health and social service agencies. • Teams will work out of the AHEC office and be in compliance with regular business hours. Each individual AHEC sets the schedule for the students. For example: Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays, 8 hours per day, for 8 weeks.

7. The What con’t… • As part of the program, students will attend an orientation and seminars throughout the 8-week experience. • The remaining days will be spent working as a team on the identified project. Attendance at all seminars is required. • Students will formally present results of their efforts, in both oral and written format to AHEC staff and guests upon completion of the experience.

8. Where will students conduct their projects? • ICHS projects will be conducted at the AHEC office. • Throughout the duration of the ICHS internship students will participate in a few “field trips” to visit medically underserved sites. • These field trips help introduce the students to a multitude of different populations who access health care from these sites. + =

9. Program Requirements: Interdisciplinary Community Health Project: • Scholarly presentation and PowerPoint/multimedia presentation to be presented throughout the eight weeks. • Service/Learning Journal (reflections on the ICHS experience submitted electronically to AHEC faculty weekly). • Program attendance/participation is mandatory. Students are required to attend all sessions. • Written final program evaluation is due by the end of the eight week program.

10. What are the program goals? • To expose students to health disparities and underserved populations. • To create opportunities for health professions students to participate as members on an interdisciplinary team. • To increase individual and community awareness regarding the devastating effects of tobacco. • To provide students with opportunities to create and disseminate tobacco prevention programs, messages and materials to underserved communities and to the professionals who care for them.

11. Service Learning Project • “Service-Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities”( www.servicelearning.org ). • Quote from the Learn & Serve America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse website, www.servicelearning.org

12. Service Learning • Service-Learning is a structured learning experience that engages students in service to their communities as part of their academic studies • Service-Learning helps students master important subject matter by making meaningful connections between what they are studying and its many applications

13. Components • Preparation-Students must prepare to serve and learn • Service-Project must fulfill a legitimate community need • Reflection-Students reflect upon the service learning experience • Evaluation/Assessment-Students and the community evaluate the project • Celebration-Students share the project with the faculty and community partners

14. For Example • Community Service • Students remove trash from a streambed • Service-Learning • When the students remove trash from a streambed they: • Analyze what they found & possible sources • Share the results with neighborhood residents along with suggestions for reducing pollution

15. Program Incentives • Students will receive a $2,500 stipend, to be dispersed throughout their time working on the eight week project. • Students may be eligible to receive elective course credit/field experience from their respective academic programs for their participation (pending approval of advisor and/or field placement coordinator). • Participation provides an excellent experience to include on résumés and contacts can be made for possible future career opportunities • Travel Stipends (beyond commuting to/from the AHEC office) are provided.

16. What kinds of projects do students develop • ICHS projects should and will address one or more aspects of tobacco use/nicotine addiction based on the local needs and priorities of your counties. • Populations ranging from pregnant women, youth/young adults all the way to adults with chronic diseases related to tobacco should be targeted. • Projects will cover a variety of topics concerning tobacco prevention and education • A few example topics are :  • Youth tobacco prevention • Spit/chew tobacco education • Chronic/Obstructive Pulmonary Disease awareness/education • Development and dissemination of anti-tobacco messages through youth- oriented social networking applications (podcasts, Face Book, My Space, Second Life, etc).

17. ICHS Tobacco Project Components: • Dangers of smokeless tobacco, Hookah, and other nicotine containing habits • Create a podcast and or video to be distributed to students • Myths about Big Tobacco and Advertising • Second-hand Smoke • Oral Health • Learn, schedule and present COPD Presentations in Citrus County. • Test pilot all presentations in the community. Modify presentations based on participant evaluations. • Create participant evaluations. • Blog about your project on the internet weekly. • Be Creative

18. ‘09 ICHS Tobacco Presentation: • The following topics were discussed in detail in this project. • Different types of tobacco products (, etc) • Cigarettes • Bidis • Menthol Cigarettes • Kreteks (clove cigarettes) • Cigars • Smokeless tobacco • Chewing tobacco • Snus • Snuff • Ariva • Camel Orbs, Strips, Sticks • Punk Ash • Hookah • Health risks of tobacco use • Respiratory disorders • Oral complications • Cardiovascular disease • Cancers • Reproductive disorders • Communicable and transmittable infections • Nicotine addiction • Second and third-hand smoke

20. Purpose of ICHS ‘09 project • To provide an overview of the different types of harmful tobacco products • To present the health risks of using tobacco products • To expose some of the myths about tobacco products and tobacco companies

21. ICHS ‘09 Presentation Outline • Statistics about Smoking • Cigarettes and Cigars • Smokeless Tobacco • Other Nicotine Containing Habits • Hookah • Second & Third-Hand Smoke • Dangerous Effects of Tobacco Use • Advertising • Myths about “Big Tobacco”

22. Team Final Report Guidelines • Team must utilize specified guidelines to describe their experiences as an interdisciplinary community health scholar team during the summer. • All team members should contribute to the writing of the final report and all are encouraged to take pictures throughout the duration of the summer to include in their final PowerPoint presentation and written report. • Students should feel free to include anything else they believe could help to better describe their experiences over the summer internship. • Student will be required to submit a final copy of their team report on the last day of the program

23. Project Planning and Implementation • Briefly describe the project topic and need (this was pre-arranged for the team). • How did the team plan and implement the project in the community? (include such things as number of presentations, sites, etc., if appropriate) • What obstacles were encountered? & How were they addressed? • What was helpful in the planning and implementation of the project? • How were the cultural/linguistic needs of the population addressed? • In terms of the interdisciplinary composition of the team, describe the role(s) each team member played during the planning, implementation and evaluation of the project

24. Project Evaluation • Discuss specific strengths/weaknesses of the project from a team standpoint. • Provide a summary of the results of evaluations from program participants, if applicable. • If you were to implement the project again, how would you change it?. • What recommendations would you make to AHEC? Should the project be continued (why or why not)? • As a result of your project, are there any policy recommendations that could be made to the community partner project site(s), local community, county, region, state, or nation?

25. How the ICHS Students Implemented the Project • Research on tobacco • Contacted organizations in the community • Created and ordered visual aids • Prepared and complied presentations, evaluation forms, and handouts • Rehearsed and planned presentations

27. Demographics and Populations Served?

30. Thank You QUESTIONS?